COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Nicholls works to fix mistakes after Saturday's scrimmage

Published: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 22, 2013 at 9:24 p.m.

Monday's practice became a teaching moment for the Nicholls State University football team.

After holding the first scrimmage of spring football on Saturday, the Colonels coaching staff went over the film with a fine-tooth comb looking for any and all errors.

With a list of errors on hand, Monday's practice became one of teaching and patience with the coaches and players working on correcting those mistakes.

Nicholls coach Charlie Stubbs said the film of the scrimmage is the coaches' biggest teaching tool, and he was pleased with the work the players put in to improve and eliminate those mistakes.

"I felt it was pretty good. Our objective was to correct a lot of the mistakes from Saturday's scrimmage, and I think we did that on both sides of the ball," Stubbs said. "We had a lot of good teaching, and we watched a lot of the film. We will watch more of it (today), and they understand (there mistakes), and they are very receptive to the teaching. I thought we had some good work in the red zone and our defense did well in stopping the offense at times forcing field goals. But our kickers, Andrew Dolan especially, they are all hitting the ball well. We still have some work to do heading into the final scrimmage, and we have one more physical practice on Wednesday then go over everything on Friday and have the final scrimmage on Saturday."

The Colonels will end spring practice with the annual spring game at 11 a.m. Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium.

Besides providing teaching material, last week's scrimmage also gave younger players a chance to impress the coaches.

Stubbs said he noticed several underclassmen performing well during the scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

"The biggest thing was I played all four quarterbacks, and in our running backs, we are working Dylan Ledet and Michael Henry at two different positions. They are doing well, but it is a lot to throw at them. In our offensive line I thought Chris Bordelon and Jared Breaux did well," Stubbs said. "Defensively, our safeties are tremendous and our front seven has a lot of competition. I can mention a whole bunch of young guys, but the attitude is good, and I do like the coaching. I see a lot of good coaching going on."

One of the young guys that played well in the scrimmage was outside linebacker Chris Lorden. Lorden, a redshirt freshman, had two sacks and a tackle for loss in the scrimmage, and he said after a redshirt year, he was anxious to get on the field.

"(The scrimmage) was real important and after getting redshirted last year. I was anxious to get on the field. I think me being with the starters, they want me to be a leader quick on this defense. Coming off the edge is what I do best with my quickness and make plays," Lorden said. "I felt the players in my (signing) class did well in the scrimmage, and we had running backs and quarterbacks in my class. I think we are going to be a good class."

Watson said the receivers are young, but experience and ready to make an impact on the offense this season.

"We are working, and we are getting better with our footwork and releasing off the line. We just have to get more consistent as an offense. That will come in time," Watson said. "This is our first year that every receiver was brought in by coach Stubbs. That will help because that means every receiver has had at least one year in the system. We know the plays, but we have to be more consistent and get bigger physically. As far as playmaking, that is what we want to do. We want to catch the ball in the open field and make plays and it is about time we starting doing that."

Stubbs said injuries were minimal in last week's scrimmage, but defensive tackle Edet Udoh (ankle) and wide receiver Eric Buchanan (neck) were held out of Monday's practice.

<p>Monday's practice became a teaching moment for the Nicholls State University football team.</p><p>After holding the first scrimmage of spring football on Saturday, the Colonels coaching staff went over the film with a fine-tooth comb looking for any and all errors.</p><p>With a list of errors on hand, Monday's practice became one of teaching and patience with the coaches and players working on correcting those mistakes.</p><p>Nicholls coach Charlie Stubbs said the film of the scrimmage is the coaches' biggest teaching tool, and he was pleased with the work the players put in to improve and eliminate those mistakes.</p><p>"I felt it was pretty good. Our objective was to correct a lot of the mistakes from Saturday's scrimmage, and I think we did that on both sides of the ball," Stubbs said. "We had a lot of good teaching, and we watched a lot of the film. We will watch more of it (today), and they understand (there mistakes), and they are very receptive to the teaching. I thought we had some good work in the red zone and our defense did well in stopping the offense at times forcing field goals. But our kickers, Andrew Dolan especially, they are all hitting the ball well. We still have some work to do heading into the final scrimmage, and we have one more physical practice on Wednesday then go over everything on Friday and have the final scrimmage on Saturday."</p><p>The Colonels will end spring practice with the annual spring game at 11 a.m. Saturday at John L. Guidry Stadium. </p><p>Besides providing teaching material, last week's scrimmage also gave younger players a chance to impress the coaches.</p><p>Stubbs said he noticed several underclassmen performing well during the scrimmage on both sides of the ball.</p><p>"The biggest thing was I played all four quarterbacks, and in our running backs, we are working Dylan Ledet and Michael Henry at two different positions. They are doing well, but it is a lot to throw at them. In our offensive line I thought Chris Bordelon and Jared Breaux did well," Stubbs said. "Defensively, our safeties are tremendous and our front seven has a lot of competition. I can mention a whole bunch of young guys, but the attitude is good, and I do like the coaching. I see a lot of good coaching going on."</p><p>One of the young guys that played well in the scrimmage was outside linebacker Chris Lorden. Lorden, a redshirt freshman, had two sacks and a tackle for loss in the scrimmage, and he said after a redshirt year, he was anxious to get on the field. </p><p>"(The scrimmage) was real important and after getting redshirted last year. I was anxious to get on the field. I think me being with the starters, they want me to be a leader quick on this defense. Coming off the edge is what I do best with my quickness and make plays," Lorden said. "I felt the players in my (signing) class did well in the scrimmage, and we had running backs and quarterbacks in my class. I think we are going to be a good class."</p><p>Offensively, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Darryl Watson Jr. snagged four receptions for 53 yards in the scrimmage.</p><p>Watson said the receivers are young, but experience and ready to make an impact on the offense this season.</p><p>"We are working, and we are getting better with our footwork and releasing off the line. We just have to get more consistent as an offense. That will come in time," Watson said. "This is our first year that every receiver was brought in by coach Stubbs. That will help because that means every receiver has had at least one year in the system. We know the plays, but we have to be more consistent and get bigger physically. As far as playmaking, that is what we want to do. We want to catch the ball in the open field and make plays and it is about time we starting doing that."</p><p>Stubbs said injuries were minimal in last week's scrimmage, but defensive tackle Edet Udoh (ankle) and wide receiver Eric Buchanan (neck) were held out of Monday's practice.</p>